FULLERTON, Calif. — The homebuilt airplane that crashed into a California warehouse earlier this month appears to have had a door ajar while in flight, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Van’s RV-10 attempted to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff on Jan. 2 from Fullerton Municipal Airport, south of Los Angeles. The crash killed the pilot and his teenage daughter and injured 19 people inside a furniture manufacturing business.
The NTSB report made public Wednesday also said the door, which opened upward, had been modified in a way that affected a warning system that would have alerted the pilot that it was ajar.
Investigators cite witness statements and a car’s dashcam video of the moments before the crash. The NTSB typically releases preliminary findings within weeks of a plane crash, and a final report comes months later.
One witness at the airport said he noticed the plane seemed to be flying “at a lower altitude than he would have expected considering its distance down the runway.” He also said the aircraft’s left door was open and up, according to the report.
“He then saw an arm reach up and pull the door down. By this time the airplane was far enough away that he could no longer discern what was happening,” the report said.
Witnesses from a different vantage point described seeing the plane “flying lower than normal and banking aggressively left,” prompting concern it might stall.
“The airplane then rolled right as its nose dropped, and dove towards the warehouse where it collided in a fireball,” the report said. The witnesses stated that just before impact they saw a white, panel-like piece fall from the plane.
Moments after takeoff, the pilot told the air traffic control tower: “Immediate landing required.”
He initially said he planned to land on Runway 6. The air traffic controller responded by saying either that strip or Runway 24 were available. The pilot chose Runway 24. Moments later, panicked gasping and an “Oh my God” could be heard just before the audio went quiet.
The Federal Aviation Administration said at the time that the aircraft asked for a return to the airport at about 900 feet (274 meters). It crashed about 1,000 feet (305 meters) short of Runway 24, hitting a sprawling warehouse owned by Michael Nicholas Designs.
The plane’s two occupants, pilot Pascal Reid and his 16-year-old daughter Kelly, were killed. Eleven people on the ground were taken to hospitals, while eight were treated at the scene, police said. The injuries ranged from minor to very serious.
The single-engine, four-seat Van’s RV-10 is a popular home-built airplane sold in kit form. Investigators said Reid owned the aircraft, which was built in 2011.